The Pursuit of Holiness
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The Pursuit of Holiness
Introduction: At Bible College, freshmen were required to take a class called Christianity and Culture. In this fascinating class, one is forced to think about how the Christian should interact within their culture. Through study, discussion and debate, we had to wrestle with how Christians decide to interact with their culture.
Since the students were from various backgrounds, there were some very different ideas about how what parts of our culture are ok for a Christian. We discussed literature, media, music, tattoos, ethics, politics, drinking, swearing, and other topics, some of which produced heated discussions. One thing I learned by participating in this class is that even Christians have some very different views on many of these subjects.
This is because students have many different backgrounds that they came from. This class was a great opportunity to learn how others develop their ideas about acceptable Christian behavior. In the end, the class challenged each of us to look at the culture around us through a Christian Worldview, and showed the various views Christians take.
On one extreme, there are people such as the Amish, who shun modern society by separating themselves from it. On the other extreme are Christians who feel that their freedom in Christ, in combination with the Great Commission, allows them (and even compels them) to adapt their faith to the culture in order to reach those around them. These are like the libertarians of the church. My message today is about what it means to be Holy, the dangers of being worldly, and how we can be different from the world yet still reach worldly people.
As I have walked this road called Christianity I have become more and more aware of the need for personal holiness. I love what Spurgeon said about the pursuit of holiness: “If I had my choice of all the blessings I can conceive of, I would choose perfect conformity to the Lord Jesus, or, in one word, holiness.” My standard, my benchmark for life, should be holiness. It should be a constant focus of my life as a Christian, husband, father, and as a pastor.
Indeed, nothing is as important to success in all of these areas as a continued pursuit of holiness. In the Declaration of Independence, we are told we have the right to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The Christian, one who has accepted Christ by faith, receives eternal life, Christian liberty, and eventual perfect happiness. Before we get to the point of our eternal perfect happiness, however, we need to exercise a pursuit of holiness. Happiness in this life will mean nothing in the end, but holiness pursued in this life will bring great reward in eternity. The Bible is filled with this topic of holiness. Let’s take a look at my main text, which is from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, and pleads with them to seek holiness: 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1 (ESV)
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,
and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Background: In this passage, Paul is concerned because the Corinthians have allowed themselves to be caught up in false teachings. This had a lot to do with the fact that the Corinthian Christians had not separated themselves from the culture around them. Paul is asking them to pursue holiness, to rid themselves of unholy things, and get rid of the false teachers.
The uniqueness of holiness – I am going to give an overview of what holiness means. Our entire lives as Christians should be a pursuit of holiness, and we should never stop evaluating whether or not our lives are compatible with holiness. Here are some Biblical understandings of holiness:
Holiness means Separation from the world.
Holiness means Separation from the world.
God’s people are called to holiness, which involves being distinct from other people. In the OT, this is seen in the command to separate from other nations and from everything that can compromise commitment to the Lord. There were rules about fabric, sacrifices, eating, hygiene and many other specific statutes that would keep the Israelites separate from the Pagan cultures around them. Whenever these rules were ignored and Israel blended their culture with Pagans, eventually they would end up worshipping other gods, or blending the faith they inherited with other religions. In the NT, believers are called to distance themselves from the ways and values of the world, which can be dishonoring to God and destructive to obedience to him as well as Destructive to the mission of the church.
In this passage, Paul ‘s concern is that his relationship with the Corinthians has degraded, in part because of their embracing of some false teachers, which has led from their neglect of being separate from the world, or the culture around them. Put another way, their love of the world has caused them to follow some who are teaching false doctrines. Love of the world, and the unwillingness to give up the sinful culture around them, has caused them to put Paul in less esteem. He is reminding them of the numerous commands of the OT that God’s people be separate from the world.
Holiness means Set Apart to God.
Holiness means Set Apart to God.
The Hebrew word for “holy” that Moses used in Leviticus means “that which is set apart and marked off, that which is different.” In the OT, many things within the temple, garments worn by priests, and celebrations are called “holy”. They were things, or times set aside for God. These things set apart for God were to be used for His glory, and were supposed to be revered as such. The celebrations prescribed were to remind the people of what God has done ```and will do. It was very important to God that the people could have things and events to associate with Him.
Believers are holy, in that they are called to be set apart from the world as God’s own people. In the Old Testament, certain days and articles are holy because they are set apart for God alone.
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
The writer of Hebrews connects holiness with seeing the Lord:
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Holiness is healthiness
Our English word “holy” comes from the Old English word halig which means “to be whole, to be healthy.” What health is to the body, holiness is to the inner person. The related word “sanctify” comes from the Latin sanctus which means “consecrated, sacred, blameless.” We use the word “sanctification” to describe the process of growing to become more like Christ, and “holy” to describe the result of that process.
Holiness is pursuing perfection.
The phrase “Be Holy, for I am Holy” appears 8 times in the OT.
The process is called sanctification; we continue to move towards holiness. Some years back, Lexus, the luxury car manufacturer, used the slogan “The relentless pursuit of perfection” This slogan was more than just for commercials, though- it represented the philosophy of the company. Lexus would never settle for resting on the laurels of past achievements, but would continually evaluate every product and process, from the big picture to the smallest detail, to see how improvements could be made.
Lexus is now recognized as one of the top luxury automakers. It seems that their relentless pursuit of perfection has been paying off. It could be said that for the Christian, sanctification is the relentless pursuit of perfection, or the relentless pursuit of holiness. Part of our blessed hope is that when we die or are raptured, the process will be complete, and we will be perfect. For now, our pursuit of holiness and allowing God to work in us in the sanctification process should involve relentless devotion to God.
Holiness means being so in tune with God that we view everything with a biblical worldview. Deuteronomy 6:4–9
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Are God’s words in our hearts? Do we repeat them to our children? Do we talk about them when we sit down, walk (or drive), when we lie down and get up? Verse 8 says to let them be a symbol on our forehead. This means we are to see everything in life through the Word of God. Do we do that?
Or do we see it through the latest popular book, TV show, movie, sports, or politics? I used to be quite obsessed with politics (I still have a tendency to get caught up in it), and I would view people through my views on politics, either for me or against me, rather than trying to see people as God sees them, as either saved or unsaved.
Do we write the words of God on our doorposts and on our gates, or are our homes occupied by less than godly programs on our TVs, or posters of our latest cultural obsession? When someone challenges us to consider whether something in our lives is holy or worthwhile for a Christian, do use words like “legalistic”, “dogmatic”, “fundamentalist” or “doctrinal purist” as a weapon in order to shut them down?
Calling people by those terms is in vogue in many churches, which we see the results of, when main-line denominations have allowed openly sinful people to become clergy. If someone calls you out on something in your life that is less than holy, how will you react? Maybe they are being legalistic, but chances are good they love you and want to see you blessed.
Holiness is not easily defined, but is something the Christian needs to pursue. The pursuit of holiness is called sanctification. We need to constantly evaluate it, and realize, that the greatest blessing we could have is perfect holiness.
The dangers of worldliness
Worldliness can be attractive
The world around us offers many pleasures. Sometimes our pursuit of holiness is in conflict with things we like to do. Starting with the first sin, Satan has tried to make God look like a stick-in-the-mud who wants to restrict the amount of fun we can have.
Sin has a deceptive allure that we need to be prepared to resist. Throughout Scripture we see examples of giving in to temptation, perhaps most famously with the man after God’s own heart, David, whose family paid dearly for his sin.
Sadly, worldliness draws many Christians away from the potential they have in Christ. You probably remember the terrible tragedy at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado some years ago. It seems tragedy has followed the Batman franchise, from the death of Heath Ledger who played the joker to this tragedy. But what behavior should we expect in our world when the theme of many movies is perversion, anarchy, and violence for its own sake?
I was reading Warren Wiersbe’s “Be Holy”, which is a commentary on Leviticus, and this quote struck me: “The very sins that God condemns—murder, deceit, immorality, violence, greed, and blasphemy—are the very things that entertain the masses, whether it’s on television or in movies or books. Take the violence and vice out of entertainment and many people won’t pay to see it. Sin has its attraction, and the consequences are serious. If we seek to be like Christ, then we need to resist viewing sinful behavior as entertainment.”
Worldliness makes us enemies of God
Worldliness makes us enemies of God
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Enmity — deep-rooted hatred. 1 John 2:15–17
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
“The “ mind set on the flesh” is “enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7).
How can a holy people can reach an unholy world?
The questions will then arise, if we are going to pursue holiness by rejecting a lot off worldly stuff, how can we reach the world? Didn’t Jesus hang out with sinners? Didn’t Paul say to be all things to all people?
I have often heard Christians, including myself, use these arguments in an attempt to justify certain activities. They say “Jesus ate with sinners.” or “Paul was all things to all men, therefore, to reach my coworkers, I need to attend their parties.”
Or, “I need to watch the popular shows so I can connect with non-Christians.” My response to these could be a message in itself, but let me briefly answer these: Yes, Jesus sat down with sinners. But Jesus was fully man and fully God. Being Fully God, He already was Holy. He didn’t go through a sanctification process; He was always perfect. Jesus led a devotional life.
He spent many hours alone in prayer. He had a small group that he met with daily, and He knew scripture and how to apply it. If you want to be like Jesus to reach your coworkers or others, remember His devotional life. Emulate those qualities of Jesus before you go into enemy territory. Was Paul being all things to all people?
Yes, in the sense that Paul was talking about being able to present the gospel in many creative ways, in order to reach various groups. I can hardly imagine Paul saying, “We need to connect better with the Roman masses. Let’s go to the coliseum and watch the gladiators, or Christians being thrown to the lions. That way, we can see what makes them tick and we will be able to relate to them.
Paul was a very educated man, but went out of his way to present the gospel in understandable ways. This means adopting language styles and understanding worldviews to make the gospel make sense to others. Paul didn’t compromise his values. His mission involved sacrifice, not indulgence. He didn’t mimic the behavior of Pagans, but worked to find ways to relate the gospel to them. If we want to reach people like Jesus and Paul did, then we need to try to be like Jesus and Paul as much as is possible, not as much like the world as possible.
There are three zones I believe classify all behavior: The sin zone, or worldliness zone, the gray zone, and the holiness zone. I will assume that Christians will agree that we should stay out of the sin zone, so I will focus on the gray zone, and the safe zone, or holiness zone.
The sin zone
The “gray” zone:
While many specific sins are mentioned in the Bible, leaving us no doubt that we must avoid them, there are a number of areas that are less clear. Paul tells us that we have some freedom in Christ. If we say holiness is over here, and worldliness is over there, there is sometimes an area in between that is not clearly defined by scripture. Many Christians will move into that gray area, feeling they can use their freedom. Those things that are not clearly sin can seem to fall in a kind of demilitarized zone.
The danger is that we have an enemy who doesn’t fight fair. This zone is foggy and a person could easily get lost and stumble into enemy territory without even realizing it. This zone is the confusion zone, because once in it, the Christian can become disoriented and no longer see things clearly. This seems to be the problem Paul is addressing with the Corinthians. They went from the gray zone to the worldly zone and this resulted in many of them adopting false teachings.
This is always the danger in the gray zone. We get confused in the fog, and we no longer see the world through a Biblical worldview, but see the Bible through worldly eyes that no longer see clearly. When our eyes are no longer adjusted by the perfect lens of God’s word because we have spent more time looking at Him through our experiences, rather than seeing our experiences through Him, we will stagger around like blind people, and we will fall into peril.
The “safe” zone: Ephesians 5:3–4
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.
Rather than hang out in the confusion zone, we should always be trying to stay in the holiness zone, the safe zone. What is our safe zone? It can be found in prayers, devotions, small groups, listening to preaching, worship, and reading the bible.
We need to spend most of our time there. If you do feel called to go into worldly places to reach lost people, then you need to be aware of the danger of not returning to your safety zone. Spend as much time as possible in the safe zone in order to avoid falling into temptation. Staying out of this zone too long is dangerous.
Conclusion: We each need to consider how we can be more holy. The reward is great. Holiness means being separated from the world, and separated to God. It is healthiness. We need to continually pursue perfection, knowing we are not there yet, but there will be that day when God makes all things new.
If we give in to believing the lie of worldliness, and follow it because it looks attractive, we make ourselves enemies of God. However, if we decide to make our holiness of more importance than happiness, there is great reward. We can reach people in the world without becoming worldly.
To some unbelievers, and even to some believers, our desire for personal holiness will be repulsive, because they will feel conviction. To others, they will find attempts to live a holy life winsome and attractive, and they will soon be asking for a reason for the hope we have. Remember that holiness is the primary attribute of God, and He has called us to be holy.
But God also loves, and so we must love as well. How do we do it? Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to help us, to give us power for service, and to help us live a Holy life. It is not on our own power that we will be holy. The Holy Spirit needs to be allowed to work in our lives, and when He does, we can be confident that we will be able to do that which we are called to do. The relentless pursuit of holiness means we start each day with a realization that we still are not perfected, and we can ask the Holy Spirit to be active in our lives, guiding us in our path.
I mentioned at the start of my message the many discussions about whether certain things are allowed for the Christian. Instead of asking what we allowed to do, perhaps a better question would be whether or not something brings us closer to being Christ-like. When our desires are to be closer to Him, and to be like Him, our desires will change. Rather than defend our right to do this or that, we will desire to conform to His standards. In my life, this has become a very important consideration. As I have sought to learn what it means to serve, I have realized that my own pursuit of holiness is very important, and many of the very activities I used to defend my right to do have lost their appeal. The desires have changed, and my priorities as well.
Remember that holiness is separation to God. The reason to separate ourselves is so that we become like Him, but if we are separating ourselves for separation’s sake, we will end up being legalistic, and like the Pharisees, we could forget the reason why we follow standards in the first place. The Pharisees made rules more and more stringent, and added to the law not to become more holy, but for their own purposes. But reacting to extreme legalism with Christian libertarianism is no better. We need to evaluate our actions and whether they are holy not because we want to look good or even feel good, but because we want to become like Christ, which should be the driving force behind our pursuit for Holiness.
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Regarding holiness, we are not ignorant, for the whole of the Scripture commands that we live in holiness. The challenge to the Corinthian church is to be holy, in order to avoid falling for false teachings. The challenge for us today is to find a way to separate ourselves from the world and to God so that we also may not be swayed by those who would tickle our ears and turn us down the wrong path, and that we may reach the world His way, not ours. Holiness comes from a desire to serve God, and a desire to be like Him. May God speak into each one of our lives, and may He give us a desire for holiness, and may the Holy Spirit enable us in our pursuit.
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages
but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—
to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
